Working Paper #21
Stressors, Supports, and the Social Ecology of Displacement:
Psychosocial Dimensions of an Emergency Education Program
for Chechen Adolescents Displaced in Ingushetia, Russia
Theresa Stichick Betancourt, Sc.D., M.A.
i
Abstract
This study explores the psychosocial benefits of an emergency education intervention serving
adolescents displaced by the war in Chechnya. Interviews with 55 Chechen adolescents living in
spontaneous settlements in Ingushetia, Russia were collected in the fall of 2000. The study set
out to describe key stressors and sources of social support available to youth being served by the
International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) emergency education program. Of particular interest
was the degree to which the education program addressed psychosocial goals such as increasing
social support and alleviating strains including idleness, the lack of safe and structured places for
youth to spend time, and concerns about lost years of schooling expressed by children and
families. Findings indicated that young people and their families were facing a number of
physical and emotional stressors. Regarding physical stressors, adolescents described the “living
conditions” in the spontaneous settlements as the most difficult thing they faced. The physical
and material deprivations experienced in the settlements were described in terms of living in an
“abnormal” or “inhuman” way, including poor or crowded living conditions; infrequent supplies
of food, medicines and educational materials; and concerns about parents and older adolescents
being able to find work. Regarding emotional stressors, participants identified a variety of
sources including loss of home, loss of time/idleness, separation from loved ones, tensions with
the Ingush host community, and concerns about their ability to be productive in the future.
Furthermore, a sense of humiliation linked to deprivation pervaded the experience of Chechen
youth in these IDP settlements.
The data indicated a number of ways in which the emergency education program provided
benefits by enriching sources of support, providing meaningful activity and opportunities to
learn, and a place and space for young people to spend time and connect to others. In particular,
youth leaders described how the program had improved their confidence in working with others
and had influenced their career goals. However, the contrast between the desire of adolescents
“to live like other kids” and the options available to them presented a dilemma for the emergency
education program: adolescents were craving normality, but for any intervention to be delivered,
it had first to begin with creative and adaptive strategies that were by no means a complete
replacement for formal, mainstream education. The programmatic and policy implications of
these findings are presented in the discussion.
ii
Table of Contents
I.
Introduction.............................................................................................................................1
A. .The Challenge of Addressing Children’s Mental Health in Complex Humanitarian
Emergencies.........................................................................................................................1
B. Education in Emergencies: A Return to Normality and Pathway to the Future ..................1
C. Social Support and Adjustment to Violent Adversity..........................................................2
II.
The IRC’s Non-formal Education Program in Ingushetia, Russia .........................................3
III. Study Aim ...............................................................................................................................4
IV. Background on the Current Chechen Displacement...............................................................4
V.
Study Methods ........................................................................................................................6
A. Sample..................................................................................................................................6
B. Data ......................................................................................................................................7
VI. Psychosocial Dimensions of the Emergency Non-formal Education Program ....................15
A. Access to Education and Hopes for the Future..................................................................15
B. Education and Overcoming Humiliation and Stigma ........................................................15
C. Enriching Social Supports to Youth ..................................................................................15
D. A Space and Place for Young People ................................................................................16
E. Adaptive Education Strategies vs. the Desire to Be “Normal”..........................................18
F. Hope for the Future............................................................................................................20
VII. Study Limitations..................................................................................................................21
VIII. Discussion .............................................................................................................................22
Figure 1: The Social Ecology of Mental Health and Social Support for War-Affected
Children ..........................................................................................................................26
iii
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
IDPs
IRC
NGOs
OCHA
UN
UNICEF
Internally Displaced Persons
The International Rescue Committee
Non-Governmental Organizations
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
United Nations
United Nations Children’s Fund
iv
Stressors, Supports and the Social Ecology of Displacement
Dr. Theresa Stichick Betancourt1
I. INTRODUCTION
A. The Challenge of Addressing Children’s Mental Health in Complex Humanitarian
Emergencies
During complex humanitarian emergencies, settlements formed by refugees and internally
displaced people (IDPs) often involve the re-creation of both physical living spaces and social
structures that existed prior to displacement. However, it is not clear what forces, if any, shape
the social support structures that are available to children. In emergencies such as large
population displacements due to war, emotional resources are limited by the fact that nearly
everyone has been touched deeply by personal loss, exposure to violence, and economic
hardship.
In humanitarian emergencies, aid workers and local professionals are faced with the challenge of
working in concert with members of the displaced community to create a safe, nourishing, and
supportive environment for large populations under conditions of extreme duress. In recent
years, the realities of working in refugee situations have highlighted the importance of attending
to populations usually designated as “vulnerable”, particularly women and children.
In refugee camps and conflict zones, a number of clinical mental health interventions have been
attempted. Some models transport mental health professionals to the scene and use interventions
such as “debriefing” (Kenardy, 2000) or traditional forms of mental health counseling. Although
helpful to certain individuals if conducted in a targeted manner, such models have limited ability
to deal with the enormity of demand. Furthermore, the appropriateness of interventions like
debriefing for certain populations, including people affected by war, has recently come under
considerable criticism (Raphael et al. 1995; Kenardy 2000; Summerfield 2000). United Nations
Agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) often struggle with the dilemma of
having enormous numbers of children and families exposed to potentially distressing
circumstances, yet very few professional and financial resources to provide culturally and
context-appropriate mental health services.
B. Education in Emergencies: A Return to Normality and Pathway to the Future
Although not studied explicitly in published literature on the psychosocial impact of armed
conflict on children, the provision of educational activities early on in a crisis has been argued to
be an important means of restoring predictability and social supports to children (Aguilar &
Retamal, 1998). Generally, emergency education programming aims to reach children and
1
Dr. Betancourt is a Research Associate at the Harvard Children’s Initiative. Please send correspondence
to: tstichic@hsph.harvard.edu; Theresa Stichick Betancourt, M.A., Sc.D., The Harvard Children's
Initiative, 126 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, MA 02138. This research was funded by the Mellon-MIT
Program on NGOs and Forced Migration and carried out in partnership with the International Rescue
Committee’s Children Affected by Armed Conflict Program.
1
adolescents from the outset of conflict throughout the period of displacement. Such
programming comprises a range of programmatic interventions often beginning with non-formal
education activities that can be quickly established with few resources, then continuing with
more formal schooling activities that require extended investment in training, community
involvement, and coordination with local authorities.
There are a number of theorized psychosocial mechanisms by which emergency education
responses during complex humanitarian emergencies might operate to improve social and mental
health outcomes in young people. For example, the restoration of opportunities to study or
develop vocational skills can provide children and youth with a sense of predictability and
security amidst the chaos of displacement, traumatic events, and loss. In displacement situations,
education programs can serve a protective function as children are monitored in a more
centralized manner, and systematic mechanisms for screening their mental and physical health
may be established. Additionally, education and the development of vocational skills can instill
children and adolescents with a sense of hope and the tools necessary to be successful in the
future. In industrialized countries in particular, education serves as the primary means of
securing the abilities and qualifications necessary for good jobs and salaries. Finally,
participatory education programs may foster enriched social networks and social support
between children, staff, and other adults in the community by engaging participants in common
action on behalf of children.
C. Social Support and Adjustment to Violent Adversity
The potential psychosocial mechanisms by which education programs may improve a child’s
adjustment to adversity are compelling in light of research indicating that social support,
neighborhood social cohesion, and even attending caring or “connected” schools have all been
associated with positive health and behavioral outcomes (Resnick et al.1997; Sampson et al.
1997; Allen et al. 1998; Roberts and Bengtson 1993; Wickrama, Lorenz and Conger, 1997). In
this manner, sources of social support, like stressors, are observed to operate across all levels of a
child’s social ecology. Based in the thinking of Bronfenbrenner (1979), a child’s social ecology
refers to the nurturing physical and emotional environment including and extending beyond the
immediate family to peer, school and community settings as well as operant cultural and political
belief systems (Figure 1). At each layer of a child’s social ecology, from the familial to the
community network, protective factors, as well as risk factors, are operating on children’s mental
health and adjustment in the face of war.
Social support appears to operate as a key protective factor for children’s mental health in many
situations of adversity. Child development and mental health research in Western populations
has indicated that peer and family support serve a protective function in the face of stressful life
events (Sandler et al. 1989; Hoffmann, Cerbone and Su 2000; Peterson and Zill 1986).
Furthermore, the existence of a supportive relationship with at least one important adult, even
outside of a troubled home, has been associated with resilient outcomes in disadvantaged
children (Werner, 1992).
In children exposed to violence, social support and family cohesion have been demonstrated to
provide a moderating or “buffering” effect on the risk of subsequent psychopathology or distress
2
(Kleiwer et al., 1998; Overstreet et al.,1999; Gorman-Smith and Tolan,1998 ). Likewise, in
children exposed to wartime violence, social support has been associated with reduced risk of
emotional and behavioral problems (Llabre and Hadi 1997; Farhood 1999; Kleiwer et al., 2001).
The quality and nature of relationships in more distal settings of the child’s social ecology, such
as schools, are implicated in the mental health and adjustment of youth, but remain understudied.
In research on war-affected children, there is evidence to suggest that child care facilities
characterized by caring relationships between staff and children have been associated with
positive mental health outcomes (Wolff & Fesseha, 1998). Likewise, in conflict situations,
schools can provide a “supportive context” for children that extends beyond the immediate
family and peer group. For many children, schools may operate as an additional “security base”
outside of the home (Elbedour et al. 1993). The relationship between children and teachers can
have great impact on the child, particularly when teachers are able to provide social supports and
model “positive qualities” such as forgiveness and caring, which may be atypical within war
zones (ibid).
Initial findings from the literature on peer and family social support in war-affected children
indicate the need to further explore mechanisms operating in more distal settings of a child’s
social ecology. Additional sources of support, such as those found in schools or neighborhoods,
may have important implications for the mental health and adjustment of children in complex
humanitarian emergencies. Thus, the exploration of mental health stressors facing one group of
Chechen IDP youth during displacement and the potential psychosocial benefits of an emergency
education intervention serving them are at the heart of the present study.
II. THE IRC’S NON-FORMAL EDUCATION PROGRAM IN INGUSHETIA, RUSSIA
The IRC launched non-formal education and recreation activities for Chechen IDP children and
their families in Ingushetia, Russia in January of 2000. The program had the following goals: 1)
To undertake rapid assessment and implementation of normalizing structured activities for
children and adolescents to address psychosocial and cognitive needs; 2) To increase capacity in
the displaced community to respond to the protection and psychosocial needs of their children by
encouraging parental and community involvement; 3) To promote the rights and capacity of the
displaced population by encouraging parent and community participation and by providing
positive leadership roles for young people; 4) To build collaborations with local Ministries, UN
Agencies, and other NGOs and increase opportunities for IDP children to participate in formal
systems of education.
As described in the participatory aspects of the program goals, a main strategy driving the IRC
model is one of facilitating local capacity to care for children. In this model, funding was
provided to secure the supplies and space for schools to meet. Outside technical assistance was
provided to train IDP teachers and help them return to their work. Training was designed to
prepare teachers for the challenge of working with few supplies and blended classrooms
composed of students with differing skill levels. In order to start programs as quickly as
possible, the IRC model in Ingushetia relied on very rudimentary activities at first, including
programs of basic numeracy and literacy along with recreation. With time, the program was
3
developed in alignment with the formal education system by adopting the national curricula,
standard textbooks, and testing procedures.
The IRC’s emergency education program in Ingushetia prioritizes the involvement of youth
beneficiaries, their families, and the larger community in developing the intervention.
“Empowered collaboration” of this type is thought both to foster a sense of ownership of the
program among beneficiaries and to reestablish a sense of belonging (Fullilove, 1996). As an
example, the IRC program in Ingushetia involves young people from the beneficiary population
as “youth leaders”. They work closely with the teaching staff to engage other youth and shape
programming to be responsive to the priorities and needs of the young people being served.
III. STUDY AIM
The research questions of this study involved first identifying mental health stressors, potential
protective processes, and coping strategies operating within this population of Chechen IDPs.
Secondly, the working hypothesis that this emergency education program confers psychosocial
as well as learning benefits was explored. In particular, it was hypothesized that this emergency
education program provides psychosocial benefits to young people via the following
mechanisms: by restoring a sense of safety, predictability, and meaningful activity to the day-today lives of displaced adolescents; by increasing social supports available to young people both
from peers, teachers and other significant adults; and by providing a return to education, which is
highly valued and seen as critical to future success by both Chechen youth and their families.
At the time of this data collection, very little was known about specific stressors, coping
strategies, and ongoing psychosocial concerns of Chechen IDP youth and their families. By
providing further insight into these issues, this research also provided insight into aspects of the
education program that could be improved in order to better address both learning and
psychosocial issues facing its beneficiaries.
IV. BACKGROUND ON THE CURRENT CHECHEN DISPLACEMENT
Throughout their history, the Chechen people have not been strangers to struggle and forced
displacement. The Northern Caucasus region has been the site of conflict for thousands of years
dating back to the battles between the Ottomans and Persians who fought for the region until the
16th Century. Although according to the Russian Constitution, Chechnya is officially part of the
Russian Federation, the Chechens have always been known for their independent nature. In
modern times, several factions within Chechnya have pushed for independence from Russia. In
the early 1990s a secessionist movement gained steady support, culminating in Chechnya’s
declared independence from Russia in 1991. A particularly unsteady period followed, which
culminated in the invasion of Chechnya by Russian forces in 1994. After a protracted war
resulting in heavy casualties, Russian troops withdrew from Chechnya in August 1996. By that
time, approximately 50,000 people had died, thousands were homeless, and much of Chechnya
had been destroyed.
4
In August of 1999, a fresh conflict erupted when Chechen militants launched invasions into the
Republic of Dagestan. In October 1999, Russian forces once again invaded Chechnya. Since
this invasion, thousands of people have fled the intense fighting. The majority of those who left
have sought refuge in the neighboring Republic of Ingushetia. At present, the United Nations
estimates that there are between 150,000 and 185,000 Chechen displaced living in Ingushetia
(OCHA, 1999). Approximately 78 % of the displaced are women and children, and 45% are
under 18 years old. The displaced are spread out among large camps and settlements or in private
homes in towns and villages of the northern half of the Russian Republic of Ingushetia, which
neighbors Chechnya.
It is important to note that IDP settlements served by the IRC’s program at the time of this data
collection were “spontaneous settlements” formed in abandoned farms, empty train cars,
factories, or other buildings where groups of IDPs set up make-shift living quarters. These
settlements are independent of the official camps for IDPs run by the Russian Ministry of the
Interior. Oftentimes, spontaneous settlements are situated on private property with the
permission of a sympathetic landowner; in other instances, squatter settlements are established
on abandoned or undesirable property. For example, one large site represented in the interviews
was once a local café (Café Tanzila), another was the site of a factory that produced cans for
food goods (the Canning Factory), and another was an oil drilling site (Burploshadka, or “bore
hole site”). Because these spontaneous settlements grew out of a process whereby whole groups
of villagers and/or extended families traveled en masse and established living quarters together,
they are particularly characterized by social networks and social ties built on family and
community connections transplanted from home villages.
A shared history of ethnic persecution and strong religious identity link the Chechen and Ingush
people. Of Chechnya’s population of 1.2 million, a majority are Sufi Muslim (Nivat, 2001). The
population of Ingushetia is also a Muslim majority. While Sufi is the dominant branch of Islam
in the Caucasus region, following the 1994-1996 Chechen conflict, the general lawlessness
allowed more extreme branches of Islam, such as Wahhabism, to flourish. In many of
Chechnya’s larger villages and cities, local systems of governance were established based on
extreme varieties of traditional Sha’ria law which emphasized conservative behaviors and beliefs
on behalf of its followers, with particular restrictions on the roles of women.
Despite the close ethnic relationships and familial ties that made Ingushetia a welcome refuge for
many Chechens displaced by the current conflict, a number of problematic issues remain for the
IDPs. Most relevant to the well-being of children is the fact that since the early days of the
current displacement, the Ingush Ministry of Education has allowed only a small number, and
mainly primary school-aged Chechen IDPs to attend local schools. The reasons given for this
policy pertain to the current limitations in funding and staffing that already face the Ingush
educational system. Ingush schools are currently overcrowded and in disrepair, while significant
budget shortfalls have created difficulty in paying teachers’ salaries. Despite the efforts of
several NGOs, including the IRC, to address some of these limitations by offering assistance
with school supplies or school renovations to accommodate the Chechen children, the Ingush
Ministry of Education has not made significant changes in this policy to date.
5
V. STUDY METHODS
Data were collected via interviews conducted by a team of Chechen evaluation assistants who,
during the summer of 2000, received a week-long training in basic research design, ethics,
confidentiality and interviewing skills. Throughout the data collection process, the research staff
received close supervision in the field from the IRC’s education program officer who was in
contact with this author via routine phone and email contact.
A semi-structured interview protocol was followed for the interview. Responses were openended; probe questions were used to clarify information and obtain further detail as necessary.
The interview protocol was developed in collaboration with Chechen staff from the IRC
education program. It was translated and then back translated from English to Russian to ensure
cultural appropriateness and clarity for use with a Chechen adolescent population. Because few
people read Chechen, the written protocol was in Russian. However, research assistants could
administer interviews in either Chechen or Russian language depending on the preferences of the
participant. An oral, Chechen translation of the protocol was decided upon by the Chechen
research staff during development of the interview questions.
All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed in Russian. English translations of the transcripts
were completed in Moscow. To guard against errors in the translation of the original transcripts
from Russian to English, quotes used in this analysis were reviewed by a second native Russian
speaker upon completion of the data analysis. Any sections of data that remained unclear or
potentially misleading were dropped from the analysis.
A. Sample
A purposive sampling strategy was employed to select the individual adolescents and groups
who participated in these interviews. The researcher and the Chechen IRC staff devised criteria
to represent a range of ages, living situation, urban/rural origins, level of education, and
attendance in the IRC education program. These factors were chosen in order to address the
variability in experiences among youth in the camp most likely to influence their assessment of
the psychosocial aspects of the education intervention. At least one interview was conducted at
each of the IRC’s 11 sites in operation as of the fall of 2000. All youth leaders in the program
(N=10) were also interviewed.
A total of 55 Chechen adolescents (24 males and 31 females) participated in either individual or
group interviews. Twenty-four individual interviews and six group interviews were conducted.
The six group interviews involved: a) a group of four females from the Smu Chiteri settlement;
b) a group of four males from the FinOtdel Settlement; and c) 3 mixed-gender group interviews
with 3 boys and 3 girls each from Logovaz (2) and the 000 Bagatir settlement (1). Participants
were aged between 11 and 18 years of age. Mean age of participants was 13.6 years (15.9 for
girls and 12 for boys). The slightly higher average age of girls interviewed was influenced by
the fact that the majority of youth leaders in the program, all of whom were interviewed, tended
to be older adolescent girls. Like many of the IDPs, the largest proportion of adolescents (53%,
N=20) were from Chechnya’s capital, Grozny and its surrounding regions. Other participants
were from villages such as Urus-Martan (N=4) and Samashki (N=4). Participants were
6
interviewed in sites where the IRC program had just begun as well as at sites where education
programs had been in operation for up to 7-8 months.
All research protocols and procedures received the review and approval of the Human Subjects
Committee of the Harvard School of Public Health. Both signed parental consent and adolescent
assent were secured in advance of data collection. All interviews were conducted in a private
area, most commonly in education program tents when school was not in session.
B. Data
In the first stages of data analysis, translations of the raw interview transcripts were read and
coded for key themes and categories using the N5 (Nu*Dist) Software. Data in the form of
direct quotes from adolescent participants were sorted to substantiate categories and themes.
Quotes from multiple informants were used to triangulate findings. Analytic memos were
created to document emerging themes among related categories. Finally, quotes used in this
analysis were reviewed by a native Russian speaker to guard against any errors in translation or
interpretation. Key categories and themes that emerged in the data analysis are described below.
1. Stressors in the IDP Settlements
The stressors described by IDP youth living in the spontaneous settlements were both physical
and emotional. Chechen youth described the “living conditions” in the spontaneous settlements
as the most difficult thing they faced on a daily basis. Physical and economic stressors described
included poor or crowded living conditions; infrequent supplies of food, medicines, and
educational materials; and concern about family members being able to find work. The
emotional stressors described pertained to worries about family and friends back in Chechnya,
concerns about lack of dignity or being treated as “inhuman” or “not normal”, concerns about
“wasting time,” and tense relationships with the Ingush host community. Many participants also
expressed worries about being able to become educated in a legitimate way in order to be
successful, get a “good job” and help support a family.
2. Living Conditions
Living conditions in the spontaneous settlements were particularly grim due to limited access by
aid organizations. For the adolescents interviewed, the deprivation experienced in the
settlements was described in terms of living in an abnormal or “inhuman” way:
Well, there are eight people in my family. At the moment, five [other] people live with
us..in conditions that are not suitable for living…we live (coughing) together with our
relatives, 16 people in two rooms. There’s neither floor nor room. The ceiling… when
rain starts everything leaks. Such…abnormal conditions. (female, 18 years, Finotdel)
We live in inhuman conditions: wet rooms where it is impossible to sleep at all, there are
cockroaches on the floor, so it is impossible to sleep there too…it is quite disgusting.
(male youth leader, 16 years, Canning Factory)
7
Difficult living conditions contributed to a great deal of illness and made it especially hard to
care for family members who had chronic conditions.
Our life here is very hard because we have no normal conditions for living. Our mother
is ill and it’s very hard for us. (female youth leader, 12 years)
3. Humiliation
As the data on living conditions indicate, a sense of humiliation pervades the experience of
Chechen youth in these IDP settlements. As described by these adolescents, their experience of
humiliation is grounded in a sense of deprivation. One young woman drew a parallel between
living as an IDP in the spontaneous settlements and living “like animals.”
It's hard when they force you to live here…this is very difficult. We are deprived of the
most basic right…to live. We just exist here, because our children cannot get education
and they cannot live as normal kids do. We are morally deprived, both morally and
physically. We live like animals. Frankly speaking we may become equal to animals.
(female, 18 years, Café Tanzila)
The theme of humiliation has important implications for the stressors young people face, the type
of social support they seem to need, and how the emergency education program might be better
organized to respond to the psychosocial needs of this population. The Chechen adolescents
interviewed expressed a simple desire to “live like other kids” and to participate in mainstream
experiences and expectations.
Like other children on Earth we want to live, to play in peace...to go to school.
(female youth leader, 12 years, IngAvto )
Interviewer: What are your hopes for the future?
Teen: That the situation in Grozny will become peaceful again, to get a good education in
the future and, well as normal people, to live as all teenagers do.
(female, 16 years, Smu Chiteri)
4. Tensions with the Host Community
Feelings of humiliation appeared to be reinforced by tense relations between the Ingush host
community and the Chechen IDPs. Many teens struggled with a sense of gratitude to the Ingush
for taking them in tempered by instances of teasing or harassment by local youth or authorities.
A young woman described how the Chechens and Ingush were distinguished from one another
when disputes arose:
Interviewer: What is most difficult here?
Teen: Relations with native people. For example…Well, we don’t have difficulties, but
they don`t take us for their own people. As for the rest, the situation is quite good.
Interviewer: Are there any cases where the local people don’t understand you? Can you
give an example?
Teen: For example, if there are some quarrels with the local people…they just divide us
into two groups—these are the Chechen men, those are the Ingush men. They divide us
by nationality, when there are some disputable situations…I know a lot of local people
8
here. The Ingush people are good, but there are some bad persons in each people. The
good and the bad are both among the Chechen people and among the Ingush people.
(female youth leader, 16 years, Gasi-Yurt)
It is important to note that some families had been the recipients of great generosity while living
in Ingushetia.
We knew the Ingush, our friends, for 10-15 years. They are from here. Their family lives
here. And they have given us a room, which they built for themselves as a summer
kitchen. We filled holes, bought plywood, affixed it with nails. Then we affixed canvas.
There we live. (male, 18 years, Financial Department)
In this manner, a tension between gratitude, feeling harassed and self-conscious, and a desire for
acceptance characterized daily life in the IDP settlements. As some young people described, a
constant sense of being out of place would erupt to the surface in daily transactions with the local
population.
You live among strange people here…It is possible to feel that you are among
[strangers]…It happens sometimes that you forget about it, then they remind you [at
random] (female youth leader, 17 years, Financial Department)
Teens from Logovaz settlement in particular reported several instances of conflict with the host
population. According to local staff, there had been a series of clashes between Chechen and
Ingush teens, including several instances where Ingush teens had entered the settlement by force
to fight with Chechen boys over misunderstandings. The tension between the hosts and IDPs in
Logovaz seemed fueled by the fact that the settlement is located in the center of the Ingush
capital, Nazran. The IDP settlement is on the property of a car garage parking lot; fenced off and
guarded at its entrance. The physical separateness of the settlement paralleled the social barriers
many Chechen youth sensed in their relations with locals.
It’s bad here…When you go out on the street, as soon as they learn you’re Chechen they
start picking on you. Its bad here. Not like in our place. (male, 14 years, Logovaz)
When you go outdoors, you cannot play normally: Ingush ‘cops’ are picking on [us]
...Well, what should I say? They come up and start pick on [us] for nothing…“Who are
you?”,“Are you Chechen?” Just like that. (male, 17 years, Logovaz)
It is important to consider that for many adolescents, these experiences of being out of place and
struggling with humiliation or harassment present important challenges to their developing sense
of self and identity. For young men in particular, it is troubling to observe how such stressors
could easily fuel a sense of vengeance given the frequency with which they reported being
“picked on”.
5. Family Separation
As described by many of the teens, worries about family members who had remained behind in
Chechnya were a frequent stressor and source of distraction for those in the IDP settlements.
9
Family separations were common in the settlements. In several cases, certain relatives, usually
men and the elderly, had stayed behind to look after the family home and belongings:
My father did not go with us, he stayed home...to keep at least what’s left somehow,
because the Federals have taken away everything we know. Only our father is at
home...others left to live here, because it was impossible to live there…he has stayed
home for the whole war, he is 60 years old, but he is being harassed anyway.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
The IDP youth interviewed were very cognizant of the dangerous conditions back home. Some
described relatives who had been in Ingushetia for a time, but had been forced to return to their
homes in the war zone due to financial hardship. Of those who chose to remain behind in
Chechnya, many were grandparents.
My granny rented two small rooms [in Ingushetia] for 6000 rubles. Now they don’t have
money, they could do nothing but go home, so they left. At home, everything’s
destroyed. They could hardly restore one room, and 10 or 11 persons live in that room.
(female, 13 years, Smu Chiteri)
Many young people were aware that the insecurity and widespread destruction back in Chechnya
meant that separation from loved ones could last for some time.
We brought the necessary things here. All the rest burnt down. Our neighbors’ house
exploded, ours is covered with cracks, walls cracked…renovation is needed, we cannot
return there. The roof is broken. It will be even worse because of the rain. There are no
conditions for living either. . Now it’s dangerous there. If it was peaceful, just a little, just
a bit more quiet, we could return there. (female, 16 years, Smu Chiteri)
This awareness that family members who stayed behind are navigating constant perils in
Chechnya seemed to leave the adolescents in Ingushetia feeling helpless.
In Chernorechye (suburb of Grozny)...Every day, one can hear shells exploding there,
every two hours they [her grandparents] have to run to the cellar. It’s very dangerous to
stay there. We don’t know what to do. (female, 13 years, Smu Chiteri).
Not only were family separations and loss a source of constant worry and grief, but not having
relatives in the extended family network nearby limited the family’s coping resources while in
Ingushetia.
I've got no father. If I had, it would be easier for me. We're alone with mum. We haven't
even got relatives. (female, 13 years, Burploshadka)
Discussions on the issue of family separations with a mixed group of girls and boys ended with
the resounding theme that beyond ending the war, having one’s relatives “nearby” was a critical
component of improving life.
Interviewer: What would you like to happen to improve your life?
Teen 1: That there was no war in Grozny, and that my relatives were near.
Teen 2: I think the same. That all the relatives were near and that there was no war.
10
Teen 3: If there were houses, if my family was here…I'd be happy.
(mixed group interview: female, 11 years; male, 15 years; male, 14 years, 000 Bogatyr)
6. Time
The issue of time took several main forms in the data. All aspects of time reflected in the data
relate strongly to types of stressors facing the Chechen IDPs and obstacles to getting social
support in key relationships in their lives. Time was distributed irregularly within the camps,
with children at risk of being “idle” while parents were reported to have “no time” to be with
their children.
While many young people in the IDP camps held major responsibilities in their families, several
adolescents spoke of concerns about being “idle” and “wasting” time while in the settlements.
This type of idleness seemed to relate strongly to concerns about continuing schooling and the
ability of these youth to prepare themselves for their futures.
Most important for youth? There is nothing for them to do, they sleep all day...If they
had something to do... to study...Here, in Sleptsovsk, for me there is nothing useful. If I
were at home, it would be better, I would be doing something. But here there is nothing.
(female youth leader, 18 years, Detsky Sad)
When there was no school, children went, collected bottles...We are glad, that there is a
school, that there is studying. (male youth leader, 17 years, Detsky Sad)
Well, here we stay at home all day long, in those garages we’re living in, in the rooms.
Before, when mum sold things at the market, we went to see her, walked a bit. We went
to help her, returned home. And then they put up this school. Now we’re going to attend
this school. (female, 16 years, Smu Chiteri)
One young man spoke of the chance to study as an antidote to negative behaviors:
It is important for them [the children] to study, not to just walk around. So that they
would not have time to smoke or do something bad.
(male youth leader, 16 years, Canning Factory)
To help out in their families and cope with the idleness, some young boys expressed a strong
interest in “working” or “getting a job”. When asked what was most important to them right
now, many boys spoke about working almost as frequently as their desire to continue their
studies. One interviewee described how the role of working, of “being busy with something”,
motivated his desire to find a job.
Teen: Well, for me, the most important is to have an opportunity to work.
Interviewer: You’d have time enough for both working and studying…You wouldn’t get
tired?
Teen: Well, even if I get tired, one still has to be busy with something…It’s not a
problem [laughs].
Interviewer: Would you find time for it?
Teen: With Allah’s help, I would. (male, 13 years, Butter Dairy)
11
As this young man later explained: “Two or three days ago I found a job in a gas-filling station.”
When asked if he was paid for this work, he answered: “Sometimes they do, sometimes they
don’t…The money that they give, it’s so little.” For this young man, what seemed to matter
most was the fact of being “busy with something.”
In order to meet the survival needs of the family, many IDP Chechen parents are forced to spend
a great deal of time away from their children in search of work or humanitarian distributions. As
participants described, parents are constantly balancing attempts to find work, the humiliation of
not being able to make ends meet, and exhaustion, along with efforts to spend time with their
children. In this manner, the social, economic and physical conditions of living in the
settlements are entangled.
It's hard to think that mum's always going to the station, well, she doesn't work, and yet,
she's always on the run. Dad's at home, he hasn't got a job. He's 50 years old and he
cannot do any hard job. There's no job at all for the Chechens in Ingushetia.
(female, 14 years, 000 Bogatyr)
Everybody’s busy with something. Almost everybody’s at the market, trying to earn a
living to provide one’s family and children with food. (Pause) Besides, there’re the sick,
who also need to be looked after. (female, 12 years, Smu Chiteri)
Interviewer: Can parents or other residents of the camp spend time with their children?
Teen: No, they can’t. My parents, for example, cannot do that because they go to collect
humanitarian aid…but it’s rare that they succeed in it. My parents go there, they come
back tired…they have no time. (female, 16 years, Smu Chiteri)
As described by several participants, multifaceted time demands plagued all adults in the camp,
but women in particular. These concerns are expressed in two mixed- group interviews of
adolescents in the Logovaz settlement.
Interviewer: Do parents have the possibility to spend time with you? What do they do?
Maybe they help you with homework? Or, maybe they play with you?
Teen 1: They spend all their time at the bazaar.
Teen 2: Yes.
Teen 1: Because of the bazaar they do not have time.
Interviewer: All of them, do they?
Teen 2: Mom even more so.
Teen 1: They would go to the bazaar…then they would run back to look around the home
and then again to the bazaar. In short, the time passes.
(Teen 1: male, 17 years; Teen 2: female 16 years, Logovaz)
Interviewer: Can parents or other residents of this camp spend their time with children?
Teen 1: They can’t—they’re always busy, either on the market or with work.
Teen 2: Many of them work. It’s rare that they’re at home.
Interviewer: They get tired? They don’t have time enough?
Teen 2: They get tired. They return from the market tired. It’s hard, yet, we make ends
meet somehow. (Teen 1:male, 13 years; Teen 2: male 14 years, Logovaz)
12
Quite often, parents were described as going to extraordinary lengths to try and cope with many
roles. Women in particular bore the responsibility of caring for sick and elderly members of the
family, both in the displacement settlements and back in Chechnya. Given tight security at the
Ingushetia/Chechnya border, adult women were more likely to be allowed passage and often
shuttled food and medicine to family members back home. As some teens reported, their
mothers’ time with them was frequently interrupted by trips across the border. This young girl
spoke of how her mother had to interrupt her home schooling to tend to her ailing grandmother.
My mum gave me lessons, so that I studied…at home. Because we didn’t have a school
here. Sometimes she did. It was not always that she had time to, she goes home often.
Her mother’s ill and now she’s also gone there, to her [to Chechnya], to take her there to
the hospital. (female, 13 years, 000 Bogatyr)
The role of time in the larger social ecology of life in the Chechen IDP settlements had relevance
for the emerging identity and sense of self among the Chechen youth. Many young people
expressed an awareness of the ways in which their lives had been interrupted compared to youth
who had not experienced war. In terms of education, many described the months since the most
recent fighting began as a “lost year” when there were few opportunities for them to learn.
Since we came here, a whole year has passed. We have lost it. And now we are losing
another year. I should have been able to graduate from school, but now I am in the 9th
grade...All children have lagged behind now. (male, 11 years, Finotdel)
I also need good education, because I have already missed one year, and if I miss one
more I will not be able to sit with kids to [pass the exams].
(male, 13 years, Canning Factory)
This terrible awareness of being “behind” was all the more striking in light of the fact that for
many adolescents, this is a second period of disruption following the massive displacement that
occurred during the 1994-1996 Chechen conflict.
In addition to creating “lost time”, the war was also portrayed as causing young people to “grow
up fast”. Some adolescents described this phenomenon in terms of the adult-like coping style
that many Chechen children display in response to the extreme stressors of war.
Now the war makes them adults right from the age of 6, now even kids understand that if
there is a whistle, it is necessary to hide in a shelter. All our kids know that it is
necessary to hide. If there is noise it means that they bomb us. They made us all adults we don’t have kids here, in fact. (female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
Well, I think, it depends also on psychology. Some children get grown-up too early,
what else can I say? Certainly, because of this war many children have grown up fast.
And though they look like children, if you talk to them, their ideas are very much adultlike, and sometimes you are simply lost and cannot understand who is standing before
you: the child or adult? (female youth leader, 17 years, Financial Department)
Like the particular burdens carried by mothers, the economic needs of parents often resulted in
family roles being shifted to younger members of the family. As a result, young girls often
13
carried central responsibilities for childcare, cooking and cleaning in the household. For many
girls, a conflict arose between their desire to pursue an education and the constraints posed by
familial responsibilities. Obstacles for girls to pursue education were not unique to the
displacement. One young woman explained that her familial responsibilities and the family’s
economic strain had kept her from school even before the current displacement.
Teen: Younger children went to school, parents went to work, and I stayed at home alone.
I had to clean the courtyard, prepare a meal before they return, then wash dishes…I had
to do everything. That’s why they didn’t let me carry on with studies. Before the war
began, I wanted to enter some [academic] institution but mum didn’t allow me, she said
we had no money. I wanted to, but they didn’t let me do that.
Interviewer: And how much money was required?
Teen: 600 [rubles] for three months. It was rare that mum was paid her salary; and we
only had enough money for food. And dad brought [home]money very rarely. And now,
we don’t have even that. They don’t work anywhere, they stay in that room [in the IDP
camp]. There’s no work now. (female, 18 years, Smu Chiteri)
Family responsibilities, particularly for girls, also presented barriers for young people to
participate in the IRC education program in the IDP camps. As an interview with a 13-year-old
female indicated, the “choice” to pursue studies may not have been equally available to both girls
and boys:
Well, some children want to go to school very much. For example one girl wants to go to
school. Her mother sells [meat] patties here [in the market], and she has no time. She has
a young sister, so she has no time to go to school. When I asked her, why she didn’t go to
school, she told me so.
Interviewer: She must look after her little sister?
Teen: Yes.
Interviewer: Isn't there anybody to take care of her?
Teen: No one, the others are younger then she.
Interviewer: Are there many children like that girl?
Teen: Yes, there are many of them. Their parents have no time to run the house, they are
busy to get food and boots for their children, so they take care of their younger brothers
and sisters. (female youth leader, 13 years, IngAvto)
One young woman who had been particularly critical of the education program revealed later in
her interview that the reason she was not attending was rooted in her family obligations.
(sighs). There are a lot of things [that could] make life more acceptable; for example, if I
could go to this school more often, to participate in events, I would say that I live. But I
must take care of home, we call it our home. There are a lot of us.. it is necessary to cook
and it is necessary to clean up. I just do not have enough time.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
14
VI. PSYCHOSOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF THE EMERGENCY NONFORMAL
EDUCATION PROGRAM
A. Access to Education and Hopes for the Future
An evident benefit of the IRC intervention in this population was its responsiveness to concerns
expressed by adolescents about continuing their studies. When asked about their hopes for the
future, many youth expressed a desire for the war to end and the chance to return to a “normal”
life. Although many youth spoke of their current circumstances as “abnormal”, their descriptions
of their vision for a “normal” life in the future involved the chance to pursue one’s education and
thus earn a decent living, support a family, and live in a more secure environment. In this vision,
education was often portrayed as a critical pathway to the success of both individuals and society
as a whole.
Hopes? (Pause) I hope that all this will end soon. There is no end without the beginning.
Everything will be all right. I’d like that we live like everybody, that our people have
good jobs, that Chechen people become intelligent and educated.. That we have a good
republic, without armed robbers, a normal president, a good government, a code…In
general, I want everything to be good, that there is a constitution and a law, that we don’t
have war. (male youth leader, 16 years, Gazi Yurt)
That I could live normal life…without troubles in life...Actually that the war is over, this
is first. That I return home…that my sister, my brother live well through their lives…I
think, that a big school is necessary here, that all who want may to go to school. I mean
not only those who live in our camp, but also Chechens who live in other places. That
the library had literature. That everyone could study well.
(male, 13 years, Canning Factory)
B. Education as an Antidote to Humiliation and Stigma
In the face of frequent experiences of humiliation, several youth discussed the opportunity for
young Chechens to become educated as a means of proving their decency to others. One young
man linked the potential for Chechen children to become “educated” and “cultured” as an
antidote to what he described as the “label” or stigma imposed upon Chechens by most of
Russia:
I want the Chechen youth to be educated, cultured, I want them to enter any university in
Russia, and to wash off the spot or label, which Russia has fixed on us.
(male youth leader, 16 years, Canning Factory)
C. Enriching Social Supports to Youth
In general, many youth and families were enthusiastic about the opening of an IRC education
program in their settlement. In the collision of demands on parent’s time, the education program
was viewed as providing some relief.
[Parents] have no time to help us. Because they should stay in line for humanitarian aid,
you see there [are] no jobs here. They have work to do...There is no time. But they are
15
glad that they have opened this school, that there are the teachers, leaders. They are very
glad. (male youth leader, 16 years, Gazi Yurt)
Although the education program’s goal was to encourage parent and community involvement,
demands on time inhibited the participation of many parents. The following exchange occurred
when a young man was asked if he thought parents were able to participate in the IRC’s
education program.
[Parents] do not participate. Why? Honestly, they have a lot of problems. The winter is
coming, it is necessary to build houses…children have to be dressed, it is necessary to
earn money...In short, they haven't time…What can I say? When children go to school,
the parents worry about them…And the time passes. They let them go to school…to
learn…children are engaged in there. In short, they have no time to come to school,
because it is necessary to earn money to buy food. And the mothers have no time at all,
because it is necessary both to wash, and to prepare meals...If there are hens, it is
necessary to look after them, if there are cows, to look after the cows...The women in
general don't have time. So the women work. They don’t take rest at all.
(male youth leader, 17 years, Burploshadka)
D. A Space and Place for Young People
For many young people, finding a means to enjoy the company of fellow teenagers had been
challenging in the emotionally charged context of some settlements. In some sites, before the
program started, young people had tried to organize their own activities, but encountered
resistance from adults, who were offended by the sight of young people having “fun” amidst the
hardship of displacement. The following exchange from an interview with four teenage girls in
the Smu Chiteri Settlement describes one such instance:
Interviewer: Have you tried? Have you had an opportunity to organize a club, a project
or any other activity [since being in the IDP settlement]?
Teen 1: No, we haven’t.
Interviewer: What is the reason? You didn’t want to? Or something hampered you?
Teen 2: They don’t permit us, well…
Teen 3: We wanted…We tried…to entertain [ourselves] somehow but they didn’t permit
us. We wanted to make a party with dancing but they didn’t permit that either. A man
came, he’s from Samashki. It was so good, we gathered, there were no drunken among
us, we just wanted to entertain ourselves a little, but then he came…He kicked our taperecorder with his foot, it was so unpleasant. Then they went to the superintendent [camp
leader] to make complaints…He didn’t let us have a party. We explained that we wanted
a kind of distraction, that nothing bad had happened so far, no matter, they forbade us to,
they said it’s not good to have fun during the wartime.
(females aged 18, 16, and 13 years, Smu Chiteri)
The creation of a safe place to go and an emotional space for young people to develop enriched
social supports is central to the research question of whether the emergency education program
helps to enrich the emotional environment for young people in the settlement. It was evident
that, by the time of their arrival in the settlements, many young people had lost their homes and
any sense of a “place” to return to.
16
Some people have no place to go. Our house was burned, the apartment was burned…I
do not know where we should go now. (male, 11 years, Financial Department)
When asked about what was most important to young people at present, many spoke of the
importance of having a place to anchor themselves to during this transition
To obtain a place where it is possible to live. I think, many people lost their homes and
now wander from place to place living in other peoples' flats, no place to live. I want to
find such place for them. Probably they also need education, to improve their life.
(male, 13 years, Canning Factory)
The data indicated that Chechen youth saw the education program as “helping” by returning
young people to their studies as well as giving children a safe and reliable place to go and an
emotional space to turn their thoughts towards more age-appropriate concerns.
I like that children are taken away from the war. They study…they play and they enjoy
themselves. (female youth leader, 13 years, IngAvto)
We go to this school which has been organized here for us. Perhaps this school helps us
(pause) not to degrade [lose what we once knew] and what is more this school occupies
our minds, the children’s minds...We don’t forget of course that there is war there in
Chechnya, at home, but at the same time it gives us a chance to divert our thoughts from
it. This school helps us. (female youth leader, 12 years, IngAvto)
Not only did teens feel that young people needed a place to “forget about the war;” they also
needed a place to find “understanding”.
For young people…at my camp more communication and understanding is necessary,
you know…kids especially need understanding, because now they are...harassed.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
Relationships with teachers, youth leaders, and peers in the education program were all discussed
as a potential source of assistance and support when parental time was unavailable. The
provision of enriched opportunities for social support was a central mechanism by which the IRC
education program aimed to address the psychosocial needs of beneficiaries. Indeed, the
education program was seen as providing a mechanism for children to meet new people and
develop friendships.
Interviewer: what would you like to have in the school that is opening now?
Teen: To study well, to meet new people, to have more friends.
(female, 11 years, 000 Bogatyr)
As usual, studies are first…To study, to create such clubs for youth, so that it will
become more cheerful...Anyway, in the company of friends it is possible to speak from
your heart. (female youth leader, 19 years, FinOtdel).
17
E. Adaptive Education Strategies vs. the Desire to Be “Normal”
The most striking instance of incongruity between the hope and expectations of Chechen youth
in the settlements and the benefits provided by the emergency education program related to the
nature of the program model itself. As has been discussed, humiliation and the desire to be
“normal” were important forces shaping the experience of Chechen IDP adolescents in these
settlements. But while the education program offered both learning and opportunities for
improving supports, it also created strain due to its non-formal nature in a system highly
regulated by documentation and credentialing.
As is commonly the process in emergency education programs, the schools in the camp had
reinitiated learning activities for children as quickly as possible as a first line of defense given
the massive numbers of out-of-school children. The IRC emergency education schools used
certain strategies in order to begin an immediate return to structure and non-formal learning, and
to make the education program less threatening to out-of-school children. Due to a shortage of
teachers trained in multiple subjects, the schools encouraged Chechen teachers to teach whatever
they could at first as a means of immediately restoring learning activities. As a result, not all
subjects could be taught and many classrooms were of mixed ages and grade levels.
Some of these strategies worked. In order to be non-threatening and supportive of children who
were potentially traumatized and behind in their studies, the school was designed to be less
punitive and rigid than a traditional Russian classroom. As one participant explained, because
the school was allowing children to attend by choice and not “force”, it had been able to appeal
to more children in the settlements.
Perhaps the most attractive thing for our children is that our school is a free one. It
doesn’t force you to go to classes and learn. Our children...they can’t be forced now,
they are not well fed now. And a hungry child can’t be forced to learn a poem or
something else. But our children like studying…At first the children didn’t want to go to
school. They thought that was the same school as at home, the obligatory one. But they
came once, twice and saw that it wasn’t like that and they began to go to school on their
own. (female youth leader, 12 years, Ingavto )
Other strategies used by the program included placing little emphasis on grades since so many
children were behind in their schooling. This spared teens and their parents initial
“embarrassment”, but also lessened the value of grades once they were given:
Earlier, we didn't receive [grades]…because, if someone received "2" [unsatisfactory,
failed grade], and the one who studies well received "5" [excellent mark], there were
disputes, discontent...Now we receive them. And, even if someone performs the
homework badly, they try to give him a good mark all the same…This school is not like
at home. They do not want to insult them. When they [the children] receive "5", it, is
like a holiday for the parents…This school is not a usual school. The marks can be
given, even if one knows or does not know the material…performs or does not perform a
task…so that the children can study better. [So that] they should not forget what they
knew earlier. (male youth leader, 17 years, Bore Hole Site)
18
Although these strategies were intended to make children feel comfortable and respond to
limited human and material resources, they often reinforced the view of the school as “not
normal”. In this way, the structure of the education program clashed with many adolescents’
desire for legitimacy and normality. As a result, the adaptive program model was viewed by
some adolescents as emblematic of Chechen IDPs living a parallel, yet “abnormal” or unnatural
existence.
With the school? I would like to receive knowledge so that I can grow up normally,
work. Here in the tent, what kind of knowledge can we get? No knowledge may be
obtained there…I would like to study normally. (male, 11 years, Financial Department)
I’d like that we have more classrooms in our school. I think it isn’t correct that all
children study together. I think they have to be separated by classes.
(female youth leader, 16 years, Gazi-Yurt)
If we study in such tents and live in such rooms then we can be equal to animals.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
Thus, to many teens interviewed, despite the good things that the school offered, it was not a
“normal school”. Some children had left the IRC school if their parents could afford fees, or in
many cases a bribe, to enroll them in local Ingush schools. One young man described how he
had been attending an Ingush school once a week.
Teen: On Sundays...we go to school. To school #4, and then we go to this school.
Interviewer: You've left this school here [the IRC emergency education school]?
Teen: No, not yet.
Interviewer: Why are you leaving? You’re not happy with this school?
Teen: I’m happy here, [but] they don’t have all the lessons..That school is not normal.
(male, 13 years, Logovaz)
With the emphasis placed on high-quality education, receiving graduation certificates for grade
completion was not a trivial issue to many Chechen families. These documents are critical for
moving ahead in the Russian education system both in Ingushetia and upon return to Chechnya.
Thus, the need for documents, credentialing and completion certificates weighed heavily on
many students and families.
Interviewer: What do you expect to get from the educational program that is starting in
your camp?
Teen: I’d like to get an appropriate document, so that I could continue studies in the
future. (female, 13 years, 000 Bogatyr)
We have the IRC schools here, but this is not an official school, and that's why kids do
not visit it very often: one day in school two days at home…if it were a compulsory
program, they could have attended it, we would have known that some certificates would
be issued or some papers…they do not accept you anywhere without official papers.
Well, knowledge—this is good. But it would have been great, if it was officially
formalized. If some document was issued on graduation. I would like to get any official
document very much, and I would surely attend the school.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
19
This desire for school documents as a means of gaining legitimacy left many youth and families
in a bind as a result of the limited opportunities available for youth to participate in mainstream
schools. Not all families could afford the means of educating their children in local schools.
The contrast between the hopes and expectations adolescents held and the nature of the options
available to them at the time of this data collection presented a dilemma for the emergency
education program: adolescents are craving normality, but for any intervention to be delivered, it
had to begin first with creative and adaptive strategies that were by no means a complete
replacement for formal, mainstream education.
F. Hope for the Future
Despite its shortcomings, the creative structure of the IRC emergency education program did
offer one of the only opportunities for many youth to return to their studies. Overall, the mere
fact that an emergency education program had been started at their site offered them a place of
acceptance and invigorated a sense of hope.
Before they opened a school here, we went to the local school to study. They didn’t
accept us, they said there were no places because we are Chechens. That’s it. And when
they opened that school we were glad. And children were glad too when they were told a
school’s going to be here. We are going to study here, to attend classes.
(female, 18 years, Canning factory)
When asked about their hopes in general, teenagers spoke of their own desire and that of their
parents to see the next generation overcome the ravages of war and have opportunities to be
productive and successful in the future. Some young people spoke of their generation as agents
for change in Chechnya. Once again, opportunities for education were discussed as central to
improving leadership in the next generation.
I think they [the young people] expect that they will grow up and change what’s
happening to Chechnya now. Maybe they would grow up and become good people.
They hope that they would become good scientists, because, in fact, we do not have
either professors or scientists here, because our professors were killed all like pigeons.
(female, 18 years, Canning Factory)
Many spoke about the opportunity to study in any form as a means of improving the potential for
peace and success within their generation and for Chechnya as a whole.
I want the war to be over and all of us to go home, I want children and youth to study, I
want Chechnya to be in peace. That’s what I hope for.
(female youth leader, 18 years, Canning Factory)
Children are probably the future, I think so. And consequently, if this future is better
educated, it will also be better to live in Grozny…the people will live better…if the
children are uneducated, undisciplined, there will be no future in Grozny.
(female, 11 years, Canning Factory )
20
Some of the most compelling evidence for the beneficial effects of the emergency education
program on young people’s lives during displacement was embodied in the experiences of youth
leaders in the program. For these teens, the chance to participate in leadership roles in the
emergency education program was described as improving self-confidence as well as their
abilities to help others. Several youth leaders explained that the experience had changed how
they interacted with other young people as well as how they thought about their own futures.
I have to have much patience here (laughs). What can I say? Children...to do what they
ask me, to help…When I return home [to Chechnya], if I go to anybody, I do not want to
have any quarrels...This is the benefit for me—patience.
(male youth leader, 17 years, Burploshadka )
Interviewer: Did you get anything out of your participation in the non-formal education
program?
Teen: A lot. In particular, from the communication with children…I learned not to be
shy, I can communicate with children. I could be a good teacher. Before I was too shy, I
didn’t answer in class, only listened. Now I can do social work…I learned a lot of good
things. (female youth leader, 16 years, Gazi Yurt)
As one youth leader described, her involvement in the IRC program has meant that her time
during displacement had not been entirely “lost”. Her experiences had offered her important
self-knowledge to consider she wants to do in her future.
I don’t think that I’ve lost this year. I studied at school, helped children, and I think that it
will help me in the future…I think that I found a common language with children. I could
work as a kindergarten teacher. (female youth leader, 15 years, Canning Factory)
VII. STUDY LIMITATIONS
The findings of this study must be considered in light of several study limitations. First of all,
given that all interviews were collected by third party local research assistants, issues of bias in
the interview relationship must be considered. Given that Chechen research assistants carried
out all the interviews presented in this analysis, it is important to note that their individual styles
and the fact that they were from the same culture and experience of displacement may have
influenced responses given by those interviewed. The research staff received close supervision
in the field from the Education Program Officer who held routine “debriefing” sessions with the
research team to allow discussion of issues such as recognizing bias and thus containing its
influence. Nonetheless, interpersonal interviewer biases cannot be totally controlled and must be
taken into consideration in the findings. In some cases, such biases can actually be seen as
providing an additional source of data. For instance, in review of the transcripts, it became
evident that one of the research assistants had a great propensity to ask leading questions despite
the training he had received and our ongoing efforts to provide debriefing and guidance to all the
RA’s while they were actively collecting data. However, the nature of the questions that he
emphasized highlighted a concern many young men had about feeling harassed or persecuted as
Chechens while living among the Ingush people. Upon review of data from several interviewers,
it became evident that this was an issue that caused a great deal of subjective distress for the
Chechen IDP youth, particularly young men. By taking a cue from the strong reactions of the
21
research staff to issue, the study was better able to reveal a stressor of great importance to the
research questions at hand.
Another potential source of bias in this work was the degree of error introduced both in the
transcription process and in the translation of the original transcripts from Russian to English. In
order to address this concern, all quotes used in this analysis were reviewed by a second native
Russian speaker. Any sections of data that remained unclear or potentially misleading were
dropped from the analysis. A final limitation of the findings concerns the fact that all the data
presented in this analysis were collected in single interviews. It is quite plausible that, had
follow-up interviews been possible, the nature of the data would have allowed further depth in
our understanding of the experiences of these adolescents. The IRC is planning follow-up data
collection within the spontaneous settlements in the fall of 2002. The results of this data
collection will certainly further our understanding of the dynamics of persistent concerns and
sources of support available to young people throughout the ongoing displacement.
VIII. DISCUSSION
Initial impressions from these interviews indicated that Chechen IDP adolescents are grappling
with a variety of stressors during displacement. These took both physical and emotional forms,
from poor living conditions, to worries about family members back home, to struggles with a
constant sense of humiliation or being out of place. Themes of humiliation and the desire for
normality were especially noteworthy. In the face of multiple stressors, young people identified
that several things were of great to importance in helping them cope with their current situation.
For the young people interviewed, education was of great concern and a critical means of
achieving future success and even communal peace. The IRC education program played an
important role in the social ecology of the settlements by offering children a place to go and
engage in age-appropriate activities, to develop new friendships and gain social support, to
reduce idleness and invigorate a renewed sense of hope for the future. Although no direct links
can be made between these mechanisms and children’s mental health, these elements are all
theoretically important to the social and emotional development of adolescents.
Nonetheless, the IRC schools must overcome some obstacles also intrinsic to the ongoing
development of its young beneficiaries. First of all, creative strategies taken to get the program
running immediately clashed with adolescent concerns about living “like other kids” and
attending “normal” schools. Second, the limited ability of the IRC’s nonformal education
program to provide grades, national testing and formal grade completion certificates authorized
by the Russian Ministry of Education clashed with the expectations of teens and parents to
secure documentation to move ahead in the educational system, and thus ensure a better future.
Given the concerns expressed by adolescents in the process of this research and ongoing program
monitoring, the IRC schools worked vigorously with the Ministry of Education to clarify
standards for equivalency. As of the summer of 2002, the IRC schools had improved their
deployment of teachers so that more appropriate grade levels and better-designed blended
classrooms were in place. Children in the IRC emergency education program now sit regularly
for National exams and also earn grade completion certificates recognized by the Russian
22
Ministry of Education. In light of the importance placed on education, concerns about missed
years of schooling and the consequent low literacy observed during this research were identified
as serious threats to youth well-being and psychosocial adjustment. The IRC is currently
providing catch-up programs for adolescents whose learning has been interrupted throughout
Chechnya’s protracted conflict.
Given the nature of working in humanitarian emergencies, IRC education programs will always
be faced with balancing the necessity of beginning non-formal education in some settings to
meet the immediate needs and educational rights of children, while recognizing their hunger for
legitimacy. Part of the important work of the IRC education program will be to collaborate with
local authorities, including at the political level, to influence policies that may allow the Chechen
IDPs to participate in formal education more rapidly.
Other particularly striking findings of the research were descriptions of frequent humiliation and
the ongoing tension existing between the IDPs and the Ingush host community. Humiliation and
marginalization have been documented as common to the experience of displacement in
populations from the homeless to refugees (Fullilove, 1996). In many cases, hatred is at the root
of the conflict or persecution that has led to displacement. Fullilove has observed that it is not
uncommon for displaced persons to internalize the hatred or humiliation they have experienced.
Internalized humiliation and hatred may lead to other negative feelings and behaviors that can
destabilize relations between the host and displaced communities (ibid.). To counter the
negative influences of marginalization and humiliation, there is great potential in the
participatory rebuilding of physical spaces and enrichment of the emotional environment
whereby people within the community can better care for one another. As Fullilove has written,
“empowered collaboration” is critical for “reestablishing familiarity, repairing attachment to
place, and stabilizing place identity”. In this light, collaborative activity and participatory
interventions, such as this locally-run education program, may be seen as a tool for addressing
intergroup hatred by creating a sense of belonging and offering a place where more positive
relationships may be nurtured.
This study lends support to previous data suggesting that participatory programs hold great
promise for improving interventions serving displaced populations (Fullilove, 1998;
Summerfield, 1999). Imposing interventions on displaced populations, particularly mental
health interventions that were originally designed for other cultures and settings without
participatory development may result in negative outcomes. As Watters (2001) has articulated,
when refugees or IDPs are unable to give voice to their priorities in the process of service
provision, programming may take the form of “institutional responses” shaped by “stereotypes
and the homogenizing of refugees into a single pathological identity” (p. 1710). A focus on
trauma and pathology has certainly characterized much of the research and intervention directed
at war affected children (Stichick, 2001). Furthermore, programs designed without the input of
beneficiaries may neglect important capacities or social resources already at work within the IDP
community to care for the emotional needs of others. In the present study, the value of
harnessing the capacities of beneficiaries was evident in the way youth leaders described the
influence that their participation had on their own personal development. However, the
limitations to participatory approaches must also be recognized and weighed in program
development. For instance, in this Chechen IDP population, it is apparent that there will
23
continue to be economic and family responsibilities that restrict parents in these settlements from
spending time with their children, let alone from becoming involved in participatory education
program activities. Steps might be taken to ensure that opportunities for parent involvement
(parent association meetings, participatory cultural or sporting events) are scheduled not to
conflict with major mealtimes, holidays or working hours when the local market is in operation.
Just as the education program provided a safe place for children to pursue their learning and gain
additional social supports, in the future, it may also offer a forum for building bridges with the
Ingush host community. Through collaborative events, the education program might act as a
catalyst for community-wide sporting or cultural events where Chechen IDPs and Ingush locals
have the opportunity to develop more positive relationships. In this spirit, the IRC launched a
cultural center in 2001 where exchange between the IDPs and host community is fostered. Such
creative approaches to addressing marginalization and social stressors in the lives of the IDP
youth have the potential to go a long way in improving their psychosocial well-being and intergroup relations.
Finally, the data presented here indicate the importance of rethinking how mental health or
psychosocial interventions are defined in emergency settings. As Summerfield (1999) has noted,
when asked what interventions would help the most in their situation, refugees are more likely to
cite social and economic problems rather than psychological ones. Such a finding was also
observed in these data. Infrequent discussion of mental health intervention might be the result of
stigma or lack of knowledge about mental health problems and their treatment. It may also be
the consequence of narrow definitions about what are considered truly “psychosocial” or mental
health interventions in emergency environments. Few people could dispute the psychosocial
importance of restoring hope for the future, enriching social support networks, providing positive
roles for youth and increasing opportunities for meaningful, collective activity. These aspects of
emergency education interventions, however, are not routinely discussed in terms of “mental
health”.
In addition, this study provides evidence for the need to broaden our definitions of mental health
interventions in terms of program planning, funding, and policy development. Such thinking
might encourage innovation in the way mental health issues are addressed in emergency settings.
For instance, adapting flexible schedules to address multiple demands facing families might
allow more young people both to participate in education and to reestablish a sense of control
within an uncertain environment (Flores, 1999). Other creative interventions might aim to
address the strains of family responsibilities that fall disproportionately on female adolescents.
One such response might include the development of collective childcare programs where
families can combine and reciprocate child care, thus freeing up more time for other activities,
including the opportunity for adolescents charged with watching younger siblings to attend
school. The schools could also provide a forum where problems and feelings are discussed
openly and confidentially via peer support groups. While support or discussion groups would be
valuable for all refugee youth, this type of activity seems particularly important for young
women. Establishing such responses would help address the concerns expressed by adolescents
in these interviews about having a “place” and “space” to be themselves and be “understood” by
others. Furthermore, because children are monitored in a more centralized manner when they
24
attend school, regular screenings for mental and physical health problems can be made routine to
identify children needing a higher level of professional medical or psychiatric care.
This study provides evidence that that a locally-run emergency education program had an
important role in enriching the support networks that care for children in the IDP settlements. As
Summerfield (2000) has asserted, participatory programs that aim to strengthen the “social
fabric” can go a long way in bolstering the “psychological resilience” of populations affected by
humanitarian emergencies. Such resilience is evident in the voices of the young people
interviewed. However, education programs are not a panacea for the needs and rights of children
in emergencies (Bush and Saltarelli, 2000). Further efforts to develop the program’s capacity for
credentialing and recognition by the formal educational system will remain critical to ensuring
educational opportunities for the young Chechen IDPs. The program's capacity to adopt
innovative approaches and balance psychosocial and educational goals is critical, and can serve
as an important protective activity and a means of ensuring the future security of this population
of war-affected youth.
25
Figure 1: The Social Ecology of Mental Health and Social Support for War-Affected Children
26
REFERENCES
Aguilar, P. and G. Retamal
1998 Rapid Educational Response in Complex Emergencies: A discussion document.
International Bureau of Education.
Allen, J.P., Moore, C., Kuperminc, G. and K.L. Bell
1998 Attachment and adolescent psychosocial functioning. Child Development 69:1406-19.
American Psychiatric Association
1994 Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. Washington, DC:
American Psychiatric Association.
Bronfenbrenner, U.
1979 The Ecology of Human Development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bush, K. and D. Saltarelli
2000 The Two Faces of Education in Ethnic Conflict: Towards Peacebuilding Education for
Children. Florence, Italy, United Nations Children’s Fund, Innocenti Research Centre.
Elbedour, S., Bensel R.T. and D.T. Bastien
1993 Ecological Integrated Model of Children of War: Individual and Social Psychology.
Child Abuse & Neglect, 17: 805-819.
Farhood, L.F.
1999 Testing a Model of Family Stress and Coping Based on War and Non-war Stressors,
Family Resources and Coping among Lebanese Families. Archives of Psychiatric
Nursing 8(4): 192-203.
Fullilove, M.T.
1996 Psychiatric implications of displacement: Contributions from the Psychology of Place,
American Journal of Psychiatry 153(12):1516-1523.
Garbarino J., Dubrow N., Kostelny K. and C. Pardo
1992 Children in Danger: Coping With The Consequences of Community Violence. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Garbarino J., Dubrow N. and K. Kostelny
1991 What Children Can Tell Us About Living in Danger. American Psychologist 46:376383.
Garmezy, N. and M. Rutter
1985 Acute reactions to stress. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Modern Approaches, 2nd
edition. M. Rutter and L. Hershov, eds. Oxford: Blackwell.
27
Garmezy, N.
1988 Stressors of childhood. Stress, Coping, and Development in Children. N. Garmezy and
N. Rutter. eds., Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Gorman-Smith, D. and P. Tolan
1998 The role of exposure to community violence and developmental problems among innercity youth. Development and Psychopathology 10: 101-116.
Hoffmann, J. P., Cerbone, F.G. and S.S. Su.
2000 A Growth Curve Analysis of Stress and Adolescent Drug Use.” Substance Use & Misuse
35:687-716.
Hourani, L.L., Armenian, H., Zuraryk, H. and L. Afifi
1986 A Population-Based Survey of Loss and Psychological Distress During War. Social
Science Medicine 23:269-275.
Jensen, P. and J. Shaw
1993 Children as Victims of War: Current Knowledge and Future Research Needs. Journal of
the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 32(4):697-708.
Kenardy, J.
2000 The Current Status of Psychological Debriefing. British Medical Journal 321: 10321033.
Kliewer, W., Lepore, S.J., Oskin, D., and P.D. Johnson
1998 The Role of Social and Cognitive Processes in Children's Adjustment to Community
Violence. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66,199-209.
Kliewer, W. Murrelle, L., Mejia, R., Torres de G., Y., and A. Angold
2001 Exposure to Violence Against a Family Member and Internalizing Symptoms in
Colombian Adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(6), 971-982.
Llabre, M.M. and F. Hadi
1997 Social Support and Psychological Distress in Kuwaiti Boys and Girls Exposed to the Gulf
Crisis. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26(3): 247-255.
Mollica, R., Poole, C., Son, L., Murray, C.C. and S. Tor
1996 Effects of War Trauma on Cambodian Refugee Adolescent’s Functional Health and
Mental Health Status. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry 36(8):1098-106.
Nivat, A.
2001 Chien de Guerre: a Woman Reporter Behind the Lines of the War in Chechnya. New
York: Public Affairs.
28
Overstreet, S., Dempsey, M., Graham, D., and B. Moely
1999 Availability of Family Support as a Moderator of Exposure to Community Violence.
Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(2), 151-9.
Payin, E.A. and Popov, A.A.
1996 Chechnya In U.S. and Russian Policymaking with Respect to the Use of Force. J.R.
Asrael and E.A. Payin, eds. Santa Monica: RAND.
Peterson, J.L., and N. Zill.
1986 Marital Disruption, Parent-Child Relationships, and Behavior Problems in Children.
Journal of Marriage and the Family 48: 295-307.
Raphael B., Meldrum, L. and A. McFarlane
1995 Does Debriefing After Psychological Trauma Work? British Medical Journal 311: 495497.
Resnick, M.D., Bearman, P.S., Blum, R.W., Bauman, K.E., Harris, K.M.., Jones, J., Tabor J.,
Beuhring, T., Sieving, R.E., Shew, M. Ireland, M., Bearinger, L.H., and J.R. Udry
1996 Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on
Adolescent Health. Journal of the American Medical Association 278:823-32.
Roberts, E., and V.L. Bengtson.
1993 Relationships with Parents, Self-Esteem, and Psychological Well-Being in Young
Adulthood. Social Psychology Quarterly 56:263-277.
Sandler, I.N., P.A. Miller, J. Short, and S.A. Wolchik.
1989 Social Support as a Protective Factor for Children in Stress. Children's Social Networks
and Social Supports. D. Belle, ed. New York: Wiley.
Sampson, R., Raudenbush, S. and F. Earls
1997 Neighborhoods and Violent Crime: A Multilevel Study of Collective Efficacy. Science.
277:918-924.
Stichick T.
2001 The Psychosocial Impact of Armed Conflict on Children: Rethinking Traditional
Paradigms in Research and Intervention. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of
North America. 10(4): 797-814.
Summerfield, D.
2000 War and mental health: a brief overview. British Journal of Medicine. 321(7255): 232235.
Summerfield, D.
1999 A Critique of Seven Assumptions Behind Psychological Trauma Programs in WarAffected Areas. Social Science Medicine. 48:1449-1462.
29
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
1999 UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for the Northern Caucasus (Russian Federation)1
Dec 1999 - 30 Jun Geneva: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,
Complex Emergency Response Branch.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
1994 Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care. Geneva: United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
1997 Evaluation of UNHCR's Efforts on behalf of Children and Adolescents. Geneva: United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
1996 The State of the World’s Children 1996. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
1998 State of the World's Children 1998. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund.
Watters, C.
2001 Emerging paradigms in the mental health care of refugees. Social Science &
Medicine 52: 1709-1718.
Werner, E.E. and R.S. Smith
1992 Overcoming the odds: High Risk Children from Birth to Adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell
University Press.
Wickrama, K. A., Lorenz, F.O. and R. D. Conger.
1997 Parental Support and Adolescent Physical Health Status: a Latent Growth-Curve
Analysis. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 38:149-63.
Wolchik, S.A., Sandler, I.N. and S.L. Braver
1987 Social support: Its Assessment and Relation to Children's Adjustment. Contemporary
Topics in Developmental Psychology. N. Eisenberg, ed. pp. 319-349. New York: Wiley.
Wolff, P. Bereket T., Habtab, E. and A. Tesfay
1995 The Orphans of Eritrea: A comparison study. Journal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. 36(4):633-644.
Wolff, P. and G. Fesseha
1998 The Orphans of Eritrea: Are Orphanages Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?
American Journal of Psychiatry. 155(10):1319-1324.
30